NEWS AND EVENTS

AARP Women and Long-Term Services and Supports Report

Women face major challenges as they seek to live with independence and dignity as they age. With longer average life spans and higher rates of disability and chronic health problems than men, most women will need long-term services and supports (LTSS) in their lifetimes.1 Meanwhile, they often lack sufficient resources to pay for these additional years of greater care. Women are also the primary providers of LTSS, as the vast majority of both paid direct care workers and unpaid family caregivers are women. Women, therefore, are at the center of all aspects of LTSS.

World Immunization Week 2017

Vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) such as whooping cough, diarrhea, polio, measles, and human papilloma virus are common conversations throughout childhood, yet diseases such as influenza, herpes zoster (shingles), pneumonia, tetanus, and meningitis also have dire consequences across the population. These diseases often have a particularly damaging effect on people with weakened immune systems, including people with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like heart disease and diabetes, and older people.

On the 22-23 March 2017 in Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a meeting entitled “WHO meeting on Immunization in the Elderly” that brought together adult vaccination stakeholders. IFA Secretary General, Dr. Jane Barratt, had the opportunity to attend this meeting, which underscored the impacts and opportunities of implementing vaccination programs for older people, specifically in low and middle-income countries. This meeting is just one example of the many initiatives taking place internationally to develop good practices in adult vaccination.

To learn more about the results of the meeting and World Immunization Week, click here

Introducing the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging

The IFA is pleased to announce that the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) will be in attendance at the IFA 14th Global Conference on Ageing.